4 minute read
Fourth generation of Nyquists returns to ensure family farm’s success
from Century Farms 2020
by Kate Noet
By BAILEY GRUBISH bailey.grubish@apgsomn.com
JANESVILLE —Bob Nyquist, a third generation farmer, lives on his family farm with his wife Pam, and their daughter Angela Nyquist.
The Nyquist family farm is 92 acres in total consisting of farmland, hunting land, pastures, wildlife area and living areas.
In 2020 the Nyquist farm hit 100 years old, making it eligible for the Century Farm recognition program sponsored by the Minnesota State Fair and the Minnesota Farm Bureau. This program recognizes farms that have been in continuous ownership by a family for 100 years or more.
The family received an outdoor metal sign to designate it as a “Century Farm” and a certificate signed by the governor of Minnesota and presidents of the Minnesota Farm Bureau and the Minnesota State Fair.
“It kind of honored the grandparents that we’re still here,” Bob Nyquist said about the Century Farm award.
Bob Nyquist’s grandparents, Ben and Nellie Oliver founded the farmstead in 1920. They moved from the Mapleton/Winnebago, Minnesota, area after leaving their jobs in order to farm. Ben Oliver sold insurance and Nellie Oliver taught before purchasing the farm and having three children.
His mother Betty (Oliver) Nyquist, the youngest of Ben and Nellie’s three children, decided she wanted to stay on the farm and work, so in 1973 she took over along with her husband Stan Nyquist’s help. Stan grew up in Janesville and worked in construction briefly, prior to farming. the nyquist family farm celebrated 100 years in 2020 and is officially recognized by the minnesota state Fair as a century farm. Bob, daughter angela and wife Pam nyquist all work on the farm together. (Bailey Grubish/ southernminn.com) for the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton School District for many years.
Betty (Oliver) Nyquist lived her entire life on the farmstead and both of Bob Nyquist’s parents lived there his entire life in the original home on the property. He figures the original house is over 100 years old and has been added onto at least once.
Bob Nyquist has lived on the family farm his entire life. He officially took over the farm in 1994 with his wife Pam helping out part-time while she worked. She grew up on a dairy farm south of Waseca.
Once out at the farm, they built a new home on the property adjacent to the original home his grandparents and parents lived in, leaving the original house for storage.
He worked at Birds Eye and other jobs before fully committing to farming, but he has farmied the land since graduating from high school. He’s been full time since 1983. Pam nyquist lets the chickens out to feed and wonder around the farm property. the farm consists of beef cattle, egg laying hens and crop farming. (Bailey Grubish/southernminn.com) and crop farming when he started working on the farm, but eventually Bob Nyquist sold the pigs completely and brought back the beef cattle. Today, the farm consists of a mixed breed of Angus/Hereford beef cattle, laying hens, barn cats, corn, hay and alfalfa, and a garden. Bob and Pam Nyquist’s daughter Angela Nyquist returned to the family farm after obtaining her bachelor’s degree in animal science with a minor in agriculture business at South Dakota State University. Pam nyquist lets the chickens out to feed and wonder around the farm property. the farm consists of beef cattle, egg laying hens and crop farming. (Bailey Grubish/southernminn.com)
have to be at this time,” Angela Nyquist said. “We’ll see what happens in the future, you never know.”
She helps with any task or job on the farm including bottle feeding a calf she calls little miss. “It’s worked out pretty well,” Bob Nyquist said of working as a family on the farm. “There’s always a difference of opinions, but it’s worked out.”
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